May 8, 2008

By Bill Hass
theACC.com

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Taking the first game of a three-game series doesn't guarantee anything, but there's no question the winner is in a good position.

That's why most college baseball coaches put their best starter on the mound for the Friday game. North Carolina's Alex White will be there when the Tar Heels, ranked No. 2 in the country, visit Virginia to open a three-game series Friday night.

UNC coach Mike Fox said that while every game in a series is important, the Friday game can often set the tone.

"You need a Friday guy that your team can trust, who can go out and keep you in games against the other team's top guy," he said. "He's been very consistent for us. He's a big-time competitor and I think we feed off that."

White, a sophomore from Greenville, N.C., who grew up idolizing Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, has settled into that role.

"It's always exciting to start the series off," he said. "You've got to get off to a good start, give your team a chance to win. I look forward to it every Friday. We've got a good pitching staff and if I don't get it done on Friday, I know the other guys will get it done on Saturday and Sunday."

White had a rocky introduction to being the Friday starter. In the Tar Heels' first ACC series of the season, White was hit hard by Duke and UNC lost, although it came back to win the series by winning the next two games. White pitched out of the bullpen in the next series against Virginia Tech, then started the first game of the series against Maryland. He lost again, making a throwing error that contributed to his downfall. UNC rallied again to win the next two games for the series.

Fox stuck with White and the Tar Heels have been rewarded ever since. White won the opener against NC State, pitched seven shutout innings against Georgia Tech, threw 5.2 more shutout innings against Clemson and beat Boston College.

Against Florida State, White did not get a decision but held his team close enough that it blew the game open in the eighth inning in an 11-4 win.

So the Tar Heels have not lost an ACC series (NC State won the second game and the third was rained out) en route to an 18-5 league record and a 40-8 overall mark. White is 7-2 overall with a 2.13 ERA and is 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA in ACC games.

"When you look out there and see Alex on the mound, he exudes confidence and that's the biggest step he's made from last year," Fox said. "He's obviously a year older and a year wiser and a year more mature on the mound, and you can see that in him this year."

White was in the starting rotation as a freshman and, in effect, had two seasons. He was 6-4 with a 3.35 ERA during the regular season, but lost three games during the course of the NCAA playoffs and finished 6-7, 4.94.

By the time the College World Series finished, UNC had played 73 games. Fox said freshmen aren't used to that, but after one time through a long schedule they make adjustments, which White has seemed to do.

"I felt last year I got a little weaker around the end of the season," White said. "My body got tired and I was determined not to let that happen again. I just make sure I'm ready to go Friday nights."

Something else that has helped this year is expanding his repertoire. Last year White was basically a fastball-slider pitcher, which works only up to a point.

"I learned real quick last year that velocity is not going to guarantee that you're going to be good," he said. "This year I've concentrated on throwing every pitch in every count. I want to make sure I dictate what happens and try to get it out of the hands of the hitter.

"I've got a lot better stuff this year; I have four pitches compared to two. A split and a two-seam have turned the tables for me. It helps me go longer in games and get some ground balls and not try to strike everybody out."

Fox said when White's slider wasn't working last year, hitters could sit on his fastball. Now they have more to worry about.

"He's learned to throw that two-seamer that runs one way and then his split will run another way," Fox said. "It has given him a little more deception and the split has helped him against left-handed hitters. He can sink that ball away from them a little bit, and he's gotten some big outs with that pitch this year."

White is part of a young pitching corps that has been something of a surprise this season. Fox knew his team could hit, and it has, but a lot of experienced pitchers were lost from last year's roster. Senior Rob Wooten (27 games, 3-0, 0.76) returned to anchor the bullpen and junior Adam Warren (7-1) was back in the rotation.

After those two, it has been underclassmen carrying the load. Sophomore Rob Catapano (4-0) and freshman Patrick Johnson (4-1) have both started and pitched in relief. Out of the bullpen have come freshman Nate Striz (1-0, 1.50), red-shirt freshman Colin Bates (5-0, 1.36) and sophomore Bryan Moran (24 games, 1.06).

The staff has compiled a 2.21 ERA that leads the nation. It also ranks first with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings and 7.37 hits allowed per nine innings.

"It's been a little bit of a surprise because we lost so many good arms, so many experienced arms," Fox said. "Everybody has stepped up and improved from last year. Our freshmen have pitched a little bit beyond their years, with more maturity than we thought.

"It has all come together for us so far. We've had eight, nine, 10 guys we've been able to count on and they've all pitched well and contributed. It has been fun to watch."

The road doesn't get any easier. After this series with Virginia, which is 33-15 and ranked No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball, the Tar Heels will finish their ACC season with three games at top-ranked Miami. They trail the Hurricanes by two and a half games in the Coastal Division.

"We have the tough part of our season here at the end and we have to finish that off ," White said. "We're looking forward to it and maybe we can answer some questions that people have about our ball club. We don't want people thinking that we haven't played tough teams, or people questioning our pitching and our hitting against better teams."

White will likely be matched up against Virginia's Jacob Thompson, one of the most accomplished Friday pitchers in the ACC. Then he'll have a tough opponent at Miami.

"This will be a test for him, on the road against two of the better teams in the country," Fox said. "I think he'll be up to the challenge. He's ready for it; he's pitched in some big games, and it will be fun. We have great confidence in him."

Even if the Tar Heels don't catch Miami in the regular season, there's plenty of baseball remaining. There's the ACC Championship, followed by the NCAA Tournament, where the Tar Heels have lost to Oregon State in the championship series in Omaha the past two seasons.

"We've got a lot of goals still ahead and if we can't catch Miami, we've still got plenty of other things we can do," White said. "Everybody thinks about (the College World Series), especially the guys who went through it both years.

"We tried to put it behind us and move on this year and I think we've done that pretty well. It's a new team in 2008. We're excited about getting into the NCAA tournament and seeing what we can do."

Bill Hass is a long-time observer of ACC sports. His career at the Greensboro News & Record spanned 36 years, from 1969 until his retirement in March, 2006. He is now writing "Bill Hass on the ACC" for theACC.com. His weekly columns will keep fans plugged in to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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